Agile Robots Raises $500 Million at an $8.5 Billion Valuation as SoftBank and Nvidia Back Its Physical AI Push
The Munich company says its Series F brings total capital to $2 billion and will fund a US push, more engineers and larger production runs, with a plant that can build 10,000 humanoids a year.
Outspoken Digest Technology Desk
Thursday, November 12, 2026/2 min read
Agile Robots, the Munich-based robotics company, said on Thursday that it has raised $500 million in a Series F round at an $8.5 billion valuation, led by SoftBank. Nvidia, Hitachi and T.Capital also took part, and the company says the new money lifts the total capital invested in it to about $2 billion, SiliconANGLE reported.
The raise is a further sign of how much investors are willing to pay for what the industry calls physical AI, software that controls machines in factories and warehouses rather than text on a screen. Chief executive and founder Zhaopeng Chen said the company brings physical AI out of the lab and into industrial production, Tech Funding News said.
What will Agile Robots do with the money?
According to SiliconANGLE, the company plans to expand into the United States, hire more engineers, speed up development of robotics applications and increase production, including in Germany. Its factory in Fürstenfeldbruck, near Munich, opened in early 2026 and can produce up to 10,000 legged and wheeled humanoid robots a year, the company says.
Tech Funding News adds that the round came in below an $800 million figure Bloomberg reported SoftBank was weighing in June, so the final amount was smaller than the talks suggested. That earlier number was a report of discussions, not a commitment, and neither outlet quotes the company on the difference.
What does Agile Robots make?
Agile was founded in 2018 by Chen and Peter Meusel as a spin-out from the German Aerospace Center, Tech Funding News says. SiliconANGLE lists the Diana 7 robotic arm, with torque sensors on all seven axes, and the Agile One humanoid, unveiled in November 2025, as its main products. A research version, Agile One SN, comes with two five-finger hands and is set up to run Nvidia's Isaac GR00T models, according to SiliconANGLE. Tech Funding News dates the SN launch to October.
The company says it has deployed about 20,000 industrial robotic solutions for carmakers, consumer electronics firms and logistics customers. It also owns the subsidiaries BÄR Automation, Franka Robotics, Idealworks and Krause Automation, per SiliconANGLE. Agile has not published revenue figures. Tech Funding News cited an unofficial estimate from the research firm Sacra, quoted by Forbes, of $339 million for 2025, and said that figure is not confirmed by the company.
How does the round compare with other robotics deals?
Tech Funding News places the deal in a busy field. It notes SoftBank's agreement to buy ABB's robotics business for $5.375 billion and a $1.4 billion round for Skild AI at a $14 billion valuation. Figure AI is valued at $39 billion, and Apptronik raised $520 million at a $5 billion valuation, it says. SiliconANGLE names Universal Robots, ABB, FANUC and Yaskawa as rivals in industrial automation, and Figure AI, Apptronik and Agility Robotics among humanoid makers.
Chen's company now has the cash to test its claim. The next measure is whether the Fürstenfeldbruck line fills with orders beyond Agile's existing industrial customers, and how quickly a US launch follows.
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